Brentwood

Brentwood's population grew in the 10 years leading up to 2011. At the same time there were changes in religion and housing tenure.

The population reached nearly 74,000

In the 10 years leading up to 2011, the population of Brentwood increased by 7.5%, from just under 68,500 to 73,600.

The addition of just over 5,100 people means this area's population increased at a similar rate to the overall population of England (up 7.9% since the 2001 census).

In 2011, Brentwood was home to, on average, 3.4 people per football pitch-sized piece of land.

Population density was higher than the average across Eastof England

Population density (usual residents per football pitch-sized piece of land) across Eastof England, March 2011 (larger dots represent greater increase since 2001)

An older Brentwood

Census 2011 data also show a change in the local population's average age.

Between the last two censuses, the median age of Brentwood increased by two years, from 41 to 43 years.

This growing rural area had a higher average age than Eastof England and remained somewhat older than the average local authority area across England (39 years of age).

The rise in age was because of an increase of just over 2,200 people between the ages of 40 and 49 years, while the population between 30 and 39 years decreased by about 1,000.

About 16% of people in Brentwood are aged between 40 and 49 years

Percentage of usual residents in England, East and Brentwood by 10 year age band, March 2001 and March 2011

Change in work hours

The proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week increased in Brentwood, but at a slower rate than all other local authority areas in Eastof England, except St Albans.

Every local authority area across Eastof England saw a rise in the proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week, as the regional average grew from 1.9% to 2.9%.

The proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week was lower than across Eastof England

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 to 74 (in employment the week before the Census 2011) that said they had worked less than 16 hours the week before completing the census across local authority areas in Eastof England and the average across England, March 2011

Changes in family structure

Brentwood saw Eastof England's third-largest fall in the proportion of households without children.

In 2011, just under 6 in 10 (60%) households in Brentwood had no children, compared with 62% in 2001. The percentage with at least one child increased from 28% to 29%.

Across the region, only St Albans (from 61% to 58%) and Thurrock (from 57% to 54%) saw a greater decrease in the proportion of households without children.

The proportion of households without children was lower than across Eastof England

Percentage of households without children across local authority areas in Eastof England and the average across England, March 2011

Disability in Brentwood

The percentage of Brentwood residents whose day-to-day activities are limited a lot by a long-term health problem or disability increased from 2.3% to 3.1% in the decade leading up to the most recent census.

The percentage who reported being limited a little in their day-to-day activities remained close to 7.8%, while the percentage of Brentwood residents whose day-to-day activities are not limited by a long-term health problem or disability decreased from 90% to 89%.

The proportion of people who are considerably limited by a long-term health problem or disability increased at a similar rate to the figure for the whole of Eastof England (from 2.7% in 2001 to 3.4% in 2011). Across England, the percentage increased from 3.1% to 3.8%.

The proportion of people who are limited a lot by a long-term health problem or disability was lower than across Eastof England

Percentage of usual residents that reported being considerably limited in their day-to-day activities across local authority areas in Eastof England and the average across England, March 2011

Religion in Brentwood

The number of people in Brentwood that described themselves as having no religion increased from just over 8,600 in 2001 to about 16,000 in 2011. This represents a change from 13% to 21% of the local population.

The percentage increased by less than the average across Eastof England (from 17% to 28%) and the average across England (from 15% to 25%).

The number of people in Brentwood that described themselves as Christian decreased from just over 54,000 in 2001 to about 51,000 in 2011 (from 79% to 69%). The number of people who did not disclose their religious affiliation increased from about 4,100 to about 5,200 (from 6.1% to 7.1%).

Just under 780 people (0.8%) said they were Hindu, up from about 510 in 2001 (1.1%).

The population without a religion in Brentwood increased by 8.6 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in England, East and Brentwood by religion, March 2001 and March 2011

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